Automatic nest-box.



J. T. MASON.

AUTOMATIC NEST BOX. APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 13, 1912.

Patented July 29, 1913.

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J. T. MASON.

AUTOMATIC NEST BOX.

APPLICATION FILED AUG, 13, 1912 1,068,794, Patented July 29, 1913.

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Patented July 29, 1913.

Application mg ilgnst 1i}, ota. eri l n 714,883.

To a whem'it c ncern Be it known hat I, Jo n; T. Mas n, t1 itizen o the t ted St -L res d ng at Ke nea i 'tlie sa e 1;. et-it enry, Sta e 0.. Il inois, have. vent cer ain n w at}? use fu 1 a rove nen n Aut mat c ie t me; an er y, d ar a i e ta s e f t-i l s!" an eze td. twa efi e H Ke nett. ee as V211? 1e si t Skilled the art to which it appertains to-make an use the same.

" i n ention rela es to improv ments i au matic nes oxes or hens The, principal object of the invention is to prov de. a nest w ioh is mounte Within an and, .5 a nted whe o p d y a h to. ai a i ii close th do r of he box and hereby prevent the intrusion o t er ow s. lime or, he k A ther ob ect f the invent on is t proide a nes of the. character described, which is provideg with a novel means for automafically ischarging an egg into a receptac e immediately upon the hen leaving the nest.

A further object of the invention is to provide a nest box of the character described which is extremely-simple in construction, it being composed of a minimum number .of parts, and is therefore cheap to manufacture. I

With these and other objects in'view, the invention cons sts in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claim hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claim may be resorted to withfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the a vantages of the invention.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a nest box constructed in accordance with my invention, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough showing the nest in its normal osition, Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing the machine in its ravitated position, Fig. 4 is a hOllZOIlttfi sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is atransverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 is a trans verse sectional view taken on the line 6'6 of Fig. 3.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring to, the, drawings, A designates a, box whicli'is preferably formed from sheet meyal, such as galvanized iron or the 11kt alt i h any th p oyed so. dcsireg. This box includes bottom 5, a to. 6, si e walls 7-7, a rear en wail 8 and'a fiont end wall 9, the latter be: ing centrally formed with a transverse 0, er, 10 for permitting a hen to enter the ox. eiitrally disposed within the box is a trans; verse partition 11, said partition being Gen: trally formed at its lower end with an'open- Disposed within the box between the parmaterial may be e ntition 11 and the rear wall 8 is a nest B,

which includes side walls Iii-13, end walls 1414 and a bottom 15, the latter being formed with a trough 15?, which inclines downwardly toward the front end of the nest. The forward end of the bottom is celi- 'trally formed with a closure 16, said closure being hingedly connected, as at 16*, to permit of the same swinging downwardly. In the normal position of the host, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the closure 16 rests u on the rear endwall 17 of a forwardly sliding tray 18, said tray being adapted to be withdrawn from the box through an opening 19 formed in the front wall 9 below the entrance opening 10.

A horizontal partition 20 is disposed above the tray 18, and is supported by the side\ walls 7 of the box. This partition 15 disposed between the vertical partition 11 and the front wall 9, and has its front edge spaced from said front wall to provide room for a verticall' smovable door 21 which is adapted when the nest is in gravitated position to close the entrance opening 10 of the "box, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Centrally ext-ending upwardly from the side walls 13 of the nest B are projections 22-22. A short link 23 is pivotally connected at one end, as at 24, to the adjacent side wall 7 of the box, and at its other end, as at 25, to the projection 22. Equalizing levers 26 are each disposed upon opposite sides of the box, and each lever is pivotally connected to the door 21 by a hinge 27. This lever is disposed in a plane parallel to the link 23. The rear end of the lever is pivotally connected, as at 28, to one end of a link 29, the other end of said link being secured to the projection by the pivot 25 above described. A second link 30, which is disposed in parallel relation to the link 29, is connected atone end, as at 31, to the lever 26 and has its other end pivotally con nected to the pivot 2 1 above described.

In operation, the door 21 is normally open and the nest B is normally in an elevated position, as is clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. When a hen enters the box through the opening 10 she alights in the nest B and simultaneously raises the door 21 to close the entrance opening. 10, and thereby prevent other hens, mice or the like from entering the nest. As the nest is thus lowered, the closure 16 is shifted to close the trough 15. As soon as the hen leaves the nest B, the door 21 will drop by gravity and uncover the entrance opening 10 and simultaneously elevate the nest B. As the nest is thus elevated, the closure 16 is caused to assume a downwardly inclined position, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. As a result, the egg can readily pass from the chute 15along the closure 16 and into the tray 18. This tray can be subsequently removed from the box as soon as the door 21 is manually lifted to uncover the openin 19. The upper edge of the front wall 14 oil the nest B is formed with a forwardly extend ing lip 32 which is adapted when the nest is in its gravitated position to engage upon the horizontal partition 20, and thereby prevent the nest from further movement;

Supported on the horizontal partition 20 to close the same when said closure contacts with the tray and the nest is in its lowered position and to disengage the discharge opening when the nest is elevated, said closure serving to permit eggs to pass thereover when said nest is in its lowered position, means connecting the door and nest for alternately raising and lowering the same, said means comprising a short link pivot-ally connected at one end to the box and at its other end to the nest, an equalizing lever disposed in a plane parallel to the link and pivotally connected at one end to the door, spaced links each pivotally connected at one end to a respective end of the first mentioned link and at its other end to the equalizing lever.

In testimony whereof, Iaflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. MASON. Witnesses:

ALEX. MoLEAN, ELIJAH FAULL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

